20. In which the committee realizes they are in dire need of rescuing.

Christine's frightened blue eyes quite captured the essence of what they all, in the little windowless stone room, felt in those moments.

"This is ridiculous," muttered Miriam.

"I don't understand," said Kevin quizzically.

Andrew Vogel didn't say anything. Which figured.

"What are we supposed to do now?" demanded Stephanie.

"The liiiiiiiight ... had faded ..." began the now-mournful minstrel.

"We have to get out of here," said Kevin. "I thought we were on the right track. The lady Kate was with us when we saw Aslan, and he didn't warn us about her! And now Alex is gone, and I bet she is too, and we're stuck in the clutches of who-knows-who." He buried his hands in his nappy brown hair.

Miriam patted his back. "Aslan knows what he's doing," she said quietly. "He's no fool. We have to trust him."

"Maybe we still are on the right track," added Andrew Vogel.

Christine cuddled up to Stephanie. "Well what are we going to do?"

"Try and get out of here," said Kevin, squaring his shoulders and rising to his feet. "Let's keep trying," he said to Andrew Vogel.

Gordon, Feller of Trees, rose to help them look for a way out. "What I don't understand," he pondered, "is how they got us in here while we were sleeping. They can't have moved us very far from where we were."

"They probably have some sort of magic," said Andrew Vogel. "I wouldn't be surprised if what we saw wasn't what was real."

"You mean, we saw the town but it wasn't a town?" asked Miriam.

"Exactly," chimed in Kevin. "And this could be the same room we were locked in -- just not the way we saw it last night."

"Then where are we and what do 'they' want from us?" cried an exasperated Miriam.

"Those," said Kevin calmly, and he pointed at the stone. "Or the book we got from Anaxamander, who's probably in cahoots with them."

Miriam went to study the stones. "Why did Queen Lucy know about them? What on earth are they for? They don't tell us much, at least, they don't tell us any of the grand secrets we expected. This whole entire thing makes NO BLOODY SENSE." She crossed her arms, sat down, and almost pouted. "I don't like this."

"No, nor do the rest of us," agreed Stephanie, "but it would seem we're rather stuck."

Suddenly a portion of the wall opened. The three boys backed toward the middle of the room, startled.

"Why didn't it open when we looked there?" hissed Gordon, Feller of Trees.

"We're imprisoned -- they're not going to leave the key to a lock in the cell with us!" Kevin hissed back.

The lady Kate entered smoothly, with a self-pleased smile. "My boss awaits," she cooed.

"You don't call him 'my master'?" Stephanie asked in surprise.

Kate gave her the classic withering look. "He prefers 'boss,'" she said pompously. "Everyone chooses to be called 'master.' He wanted to be original."

She turned back to the rest of the group. "You will follow me. And don't try to run -- you'll lose your way. And there is no way out of the Keep that is not guarded."

"The ... Keep ...?" Christine didn't mean to say it out loud. She jumped at the sound of her own voice. (Stephanie hugged her to make her feel better.)

The lady Kate smiled again. Miriam bristled and didn't like the smile (on purpose). "Follow me," she said silkily.

"Now I know what they mean when it says 'a silky voice,'" Andrew Vogel whispered to Gordon, Feller of Trees.

Kate led them on through what seemed to be a high, huge building made out of shadows. It was creepy and quiet. They didn't like it at ALL. Even the minstrel was silent, clutching her leetle guitar close and letting her eyes go wide at the sight of everything. They walked forever, and finally entered another room. It was massive, bigger than anything they'd ever seen, with a huge chair in the exact center of the room. The chair was shimmery gold and draped in yards and yards of red velvet.

A man sat in the center of the chair, which was so big his feet were nowhere near touching the ground. The committee and companions were led straight up to the foot of the chair by Kate, and they looked up in awe at the huge chair. Not the man sitting on it, of course, who was quite outdone by the glory of his seat. But their eyes did come to rest on the man, who was thin and dark-haired.

The man raised one magnificent eyebrow and smirked proudly. All of the people gathered at his feet -- Andrew Vogel excluded -- gasped at his glorious expression. How perfectly he did it!

The man then leaned forward slowly, enrapturing his audience. "Do you know who I am?" he asked in a deep, grave tone.

They all shook their heads.

"I am Lord Justin," said the man, sitting back quickly, somehow breaking the spell he'd wrapped around his prisoners. "You are now in my possession until I have tired of you."

Another man slowly moved around the bottom of the colossal chair, towards the committee.

"And this is my assistant, Alex."

The committee looked in horror at the man who now faced them.

"Alex, how could you?" cried Kevin.

Miriam's brow furrowed and her spirit was troubled.

Andrew Vogel showed no expression, but his thoughts were quick and calm as usual.

Alex didn't show any expression either. "I am doing what I have to," he said coolly.

"We're doomed," whispered Stephanie, and though none of the committee members heard her, the author is certain they shared the same sentiment.

Alex trudged ahead of the group, pondering everything. It seemed too much for him to take in. He was having difficulty sorting everything out: the stones, the mysterious book, the dryad ("what was his purpose?" he kept asking himself), their shrouded meeting with Aslan, the lady Kate.

"What are you thinking?" asked Kevin quietly.

"Whaaaaaaaat are you thinking, my lady, my ladyyyyyy ..." sang Jessica the minstrel.

"I’m not sure," replied Alex. "Too much, I suppose. Mostly about Anaxamander."

Kevin looked a bit bewildered. "Why him?"

Alex shrugged and shook his head. "I’m not sure yet ..."

"I ain't thinkin' nothin', she said, very statelyyyyyy ..." sang Jessica.

"How’s Miriam doing?" asked Kevin.

"I’m going to get down now, I think," she piped up from over yonder in the darkness. Alex smiled at her tone.

"Are you all right?" asked Kevin, a bit worried. "Here, Andrew, let me carry her for a bit."

"No, I should walk now," Miriam said as gently as she could. "Andrew Vogel carried me for the time I needed to be carried, and now I need to walk on my own. ‘Walk it off,’ you know?" And she slipped down and started hopping along, trying to get feeling back in her legs.

"You’re quite awake, aren’t you?" asked Andrew Vogel impishly.

"I am," she replied. "I’m all rested." She gave a big grin. With her eyes closed.

"I'm thinkin' you're pretty, my ladyyy, my ladyyyyyy ..."

"Have we almost reached your town?" Kevin asked Kate, occupying himself with other things.

"Almost," she replied gracefully.

Wow, her hair was beautiful. Kevin shook his tired head and re-tried to focus.

"AAAAAAAND you should get flowers from meeeeeee ..."

"Just through the trees -- you see those?" Kate pointed.

Kevin followed her gaze. He flinched before he was able to focus.

"FRIENDS OF ISRAAAAAAAAAAEL!!!!"

A screaming Asian man materialized on the left, ran in front of the group, and disappeared again into the trees on their right. They could hear him screaming still as his voice belied his distance from them.

"FRIEEENNNDS OF ISRAAAaaaaaeeeelllll ..."

"Just through those trees," Kate repeated, realizing how much harder it was now for Kevin to focus.

"Thanks," he muttered for the sake of the group, who, of course, knew that the screaming Asian man couldn't hear him.

"We'll be there soon."

"And then we shall continue south!" said Christine happily.

"And then we shall get something to eat," said Gordon, Feller of Trees. "I am very hungry."

"And youuuuu should get flowerrrrrrs from meeeeeeee, and youuuuu should get flowers from meeeeeeee ..."

"It's been a lonnnnnnng time since we ate, Kevin," said Stephanie. "I know a good root we can find ..."

"Not now," said Kevin. "First we get to town. Then we think about other things." He was feeling qiute enamored of the lady Kate now, and too tired to really care who noticed. At any other time, though it was true, he would have been annoyed if they had guessed it.

"Annnnnnd youuuuu should get flowerrrrs from meeeeee ... because you are pretty, my laaaaaaadyyyyyyyy!"

The conversation as it was, they finally came through the trees, and saw the town a bit below them, at the bottom of the small hill they were standing on.

"We need to talk to Kevin," Andrew Vogel said to Alex. "He's very focused now, but I am afraid of him focusing on the wrong things."

"Me too! Don't forget about mee," said Miriam assertively.

"He's fine," said Alex. "He's being a gentleman. The other lady was quite taken care of, and he wanted to be of some use."

"He is of use, what do you mean?" asked Miriam.

"Men feel helpless when they can't do anything for a lady," Alex explained.

"But he's not helpless," said Miriam. "He is strong and capable and wonderful."

"He is, but he will not feel so until those qualities are able to be realized. Do you understand?"

"I shall try," said Miriam, a little sadly. "What must we speak to him about?"

"About the lady Kate," said Andrew Vogel, as they drew nearer to the first houses of the town. "I am wary of her."

"Aren't you wary of everything?" asked Miriam.

"It's good to be wary of women, at least," said Alex. "But especially this one."

The lady Kate led them to her family's small home and let them all quietly inside -- even the minstrel, who they were hoping had agreed to hush, though they couldn't quite figure it out, as she never spoke, and only sang.

"You are all welcome to spend the night in this room," she said, leading them to a type of fresh, animal-free, straw-laden room at the back of the dark, quiet cottage. "It's small, but will serve you at least till morning. There's a stream just out that door for anything you need, and I'll ensure you're fed early in the morning."

She smiled glowingly at tall, smitten Kevin. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he said.

"Goodnight," growled Alex and Andrew Vogel. And Miriam.